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| Kellogg's Norman Rockwell issue |
Deck the malls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
'tis the season to make lolly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
The countdown has begun – now is the time to put the
measures in place that will make for a prosperous new year. IT'S ONLY ONE MONTH UNTIL CHRISTMAS FOLKS
Many independent retailers rely on the festive
season. It can represent as much of half of their annual sales. However all of us in selling are affected by the Christmas season. There is much planning to be done whether it is planning around the factory holiday shut down, the 'quiet period' between Christmas and New Year, or organising sales meetings and trainings in the less busy time or organising and booking the Christmas Team lunch!
There is much we can learn from the selling skills of the retailers.
Christmas tills ringing have an
entirely different tone. The fear of things going wrong in this buying season means it can be
anything but festive for retailers.
The business of Christmas is significant because Christmas
is typically a peak selling season for retailers .
Sales increase dramatically as people purchase gifts,
decorations, and supplies to celebrate.
In the UK the
Christmas shopping season usually starts from mid November although some stores
start selling Christmas cards by
September.
For most it starts around the time when high street
Christmas lights are turned on.
The increased level of demand, through both on line and
offline sales channels, puts pressure on retailers’ operational systems and
processes. The infrastructure of a retail operation needs to be robust enough
to cope with the influx of orders.
For example according to eBay, 79% of shoppers are likely to
purchase from another retailer or brand when a product is back ordered or out
of stock.
Mistakes and delays result in disappointed customers and
missed opportunities.
A newer trend is that the shape of the holiday season has
changed.
On-line shopping and the import of USA's Black Friday on Friday 27th of November this year , such sales have fixed a host of new dates in the UK’s
retail calendar.
However Aldi is to follow Asda’s lead and not acknowledge Black Friday this year– insisting its customers get the best deals every day.
However Aldi is to follow Asda’s lead and not acknowledge Black Friday this year– insisting its customers get the best deals every day.
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| For Vodafone self control of Black Friday was lost to Red Thursday to get ahead ! |
Prepare for the Christmas selling window
Retail is detail - Preparation
·
Don’t be
caught on-the-hop : From customer service to handling extra stock coming in
for promotions – make sure you don’t get caught out by being under prepared
·
Fine tune
your inventory/ stock: Early season discounts can significantly erode demand during the
traditional January sales. Take this into account when stocking up.
·
Don’t let your discounting dim your sparkle out of Christmas : many consumers have become conditioned
to wait for promotions before making a purchase due to the challenge of increasingly
rapid retail cycle of product launches and sales. Analyse your data carefully
to identify products you can afford to promote – then offer targeted reductions
across your product mix to draw your discount hunters without sacrificing
margins across your whole product range.
·
·
Exploit unparalleled on line traffic especially Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Being
able to cope with the expected spike in visitors to your site is crucial for your success.
Postscript on 19th December The Daily Express front page
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| Photo of Daily Express front page on #panicsaturday Who was panicking ? the retailer or the consumer |
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